OPB’s First Look: U.S.–Israel strike on Iran

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Good morning, Northwest.

Today’s newsletter begins with the latest developments: the joint U.S.–Israel attack on Iran. President Donald Trump has vowed to end Iran’s nuclear program and pursue regime change in the country.

OPB’s Joni Auden Land reports on reactions from Democratic lawmakers in the Pacific Northwest to the military action.

Plus, today marks the birthday of Linus Pauling, the prominent Oregon-born chemist who won two Nobel Prizes. He died in 1994 at age 93. We revisit his life with OPB producer Bradley W. Parks.

Here’s your First Look at Saturday’s news.

— Winston Szeto

Democrats in Oregon and Washington condemn military strike in Iran

Congressional Democrats in Oregon and Washington condemned President Donald Trump’s military strike in Iran today.

This comes hours after the U.S. and Israel launched several missiles into Iran, with Trump vowing to end that country’s nuclear program and bring in a regime change. The Iranian military has already responded by firing missiles at American bases located around the region. (Joni Auden Land)

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3 things to know this morning

• Eric Nisley is a former longtime Wasco County district attorney who was suspended from practicing law for lying to state investigators while in office. So far, he’s the only candidate running for Jefferson County’s top law enforcement job. (Jen Baires)
• House Bill 4178, which would allow stores to round the cost of items up or down to the nearest nickel, passed the Oregon House of Representatives yesterday and now heads to the Senate. (Kristian Foden-Vencil)
• Portland General Electric expects to add more than 1,000 megawatts of renewable energy and battery storage capacity to its system within three years, in the company’s biggest renewable energy addition to date. (Monica Samayoa)

Headlines from around the Northwest

• Portland can fine ICE building owner $5,000 each time federal officials deploy chemical munitions (Alex Zielinski)
• Portland Public Schools considers furlough days to make up multimillion dollar budget gap (Elizabeth Miller)
• After years of eradication efforts, Oregon is free of feral swine. Almost (Kristian Foden-Vencil)
• Portland museum shows art reflecting resilience of Minidoka incarcerees and their descendants (Winston Szeto)
• Medford wrestles with the price tag of the proposed Emeralds baseball stadium (Roman Battaglia)
• Washington state couple seeks licensing help in Spanish. They get a recorded message in accented English instead (Monica Carrillo-Casas)
• Washington state is building wildfire risk and hazard maps. Mapmakers need your help (Courtney Flatt)
• Women’s hockey stars celebrate Olympic gold in Seattle, shake off Trump’s snub (Freddy Monares)

A very brief history of Oregon chemist Linus Pauling

Every year on Feb. 28, Oregon commemorates the life of Linus Pauling, a Portland-born and Oregon State University-educated scientist.

Pauling became a well-known figure in Oregon and around the world for his contributions to chemistry, advocacy for nuclear disarmament and (perhaps overly) enthusiastic embrace of vitamin C.

Pauling was born in Portland on Feb. 28, 1901. He spent his early childhood in Condon before moving back to the Rose City, where he attended Washington High School. He studied chemical engineering at OSU and later earned a doctorate in chemistry at California Institute of Technology.

Pauling won his first Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1954. His prize-winning research focused on the nature of chemical bonds.

This story was first published on Feb. 28, 2025. (Bradley W. Parks)

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